Loire Valley, France, 1212. Adelina de Polignac is forced into a marriage of convenience to a man she detests. Her true love she cannot have - Geoffrey, her orphaned cousin, now a Benedictine monk whose heart doesn't belong with the church. When Adelina's father is murdered, she tries to escape her fate by joining the Children's Crusade, but Gabriel of Lyon thwarts her plan. Gabriel, her father's most merciless knight, will stop at nothing to acquire the Polignac estate. Can a young woman, who once dreamed of being a warrior, go unarmed into battle against a violent, avaricious mercenary? "Exceptional... Terrific story-telling... Abundance of author talent..."